Letter Re: My Experience at the RWVA Mingus, Texas Shoot

Hi James,
I wanted to share my experience at the Revolutionary War Veterans Association’s Mingus, Texas Appleseed Army Qualification Target (AQT) [high power rifle] shoot last weekend (10/28/06-10/29/06), held at the excellent Tac-Pro Shooting Center. For those that don’t know, RWVA is an organization that promotes/teaches Americans marksmanship skills using military rifles and ball ammo. A fine gentleman known as “Fred” (of Fred’s M14 Stocks fame) spearheads the Appleseed Project. They have begun holding Appleseed shoots at different ranges throughout the country with the intent of teaching shooters how to improve their marksmanship using an Army Qualification Target. Fred gave a motivating speech about what some Revolutionary War veterans sacrificed during the first shots of that war, reminding us that, at the time, those resisting were English subjects. It was no small laugh when the owner of the range introduced himself and made light of the fact that he was English! (I digress) The AQT target is one sheet of silhouettes scaled to represent the appearance of 100 yard (1 silhouette – 10 shots fired while standing – Stage 1), 200 yard (2 silhouettes – 5 shots each from a sitting/squatting position – Stage 2), 300 yard (3 silhouettes – firing 3 rds into the first two and 4 rounds into the last – Stage 3) and 400 yard (4 silhouettes – 2 shots each fired at the first two silhouettes, 3 shots each for the latter two – Stage 4) when posted at 25 meters (81 ft.). When many shooters read about the program they scoff at the fact that the targets are “only” 25 meters away. I assure you that the scale of the target makes the task and scoring quite the challenge, as no shots are fired from a bench! The grading is based on minute of angle calculations which take into account the distance represented. When I registered ($70 – a bargain) I listed my experience as “rusty” and I had no idea how right I was! My highest AQT score was just over 100 for the entire weekend (far below the Rifleman standard of 210), but the instructors constantly reminded us “A Rifleman always persists”. The 3rd and 4th stages were what were bringing my scores down. The value of the program is you get a real world perspective on how you would perform with your equipment when firing at actual targets distanced at the actual yards the scaled down target represents. You spend the day with like-minded individuals. There were a variety of military rifles present. I was especially impressed with one shooter who made a near perfect Stage 1 100 yard 10 shot score (standing). I got acquainted with a number of shooters from my area and have tentatively planned to get together with them for more AQT practice. The instructors/range officers were very professional, courteous and made hard work seem like fun. I came home sore, sun roasted, a bit dehydrated, exhausted, and a little frustrated with my performance. However, I was armed with the knowledge needed to improve my scores and more importantly improve my skill. I encourage anyone reading this to not make excuses – make the time to attend an RWVA Appleseed event. It is one of (if not “the”) the best bargains in firearms training you will find. Kind Regards, – M. Artixerxes

Odds ‘n Sods:

SurvivalBlog reader “The Rabid One” mentioned that chemical light sticks can be set up with a discarded computer CD as a reflector mount. This mounting arrangement can create very visible markers for trails. helicopter landing zones, et cetera. Employing infrared light sticks in this manner (for use with night vision goggles) opens up even more possibilities. You can even make them directional. “The Rabid One” quipped: “I knew I would someday find a use for all those free AOL CDs.” (Some uses for CDs are not just comical. They do make effective reflectors for scaring birds from gardens and orchards.)

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Michael Z. Williamson wrote me to say: “I want one!” From Russia with love: The ultimate up-armored SUV. Here is another article about the same vehicle.

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Speakers at the recent ASPO-USA Peak Oil conference in Boston warn: Global warming in the new century may be very severe. Byron King, editor of the free Whiskey and Gunpowder e-newsletter (one of my “must reads”) reported on the conference: “The first evening of the ASPO-USA conference kicked off with three lectures, and a question session, on the subject of global warming (GW). Why global warming? Because it is what you get when you burn up lots of fossil carbon-based fuels and load the atmosphere with otherwise excess levels of carbon dioxide (CO2). GW is the other side of the coin of Peak Oil. That is, in the process of rapidly depleting the Earth’s supply of fossil fuels, mankind is also playing a life-threatening experiment with the Earth’s atmosphere. Life-threatening? You had better believe it. If you are not worried, get worried. Dartmouth professor and climatologist Cameron Wake gave a presentation about the current buildup of CO2 in the atmosphere. Wake’s research includes reviewing more than a century of very accurate, chemical measurements of atmospheric CO2, a period that covers the vast majority of the industrial era. As one might expect, CO2 levels have increased dramatically over the past century as coal, oil, and natural gas have been burned in immense quantity and scope. Recent figures for CO2 releases, including the breakneck industrialization of China and India, yield charts that accelerate upward on a skyrocketing trajectory.”

Notes From JWR:

The high bid is now at $100 in the current SurvivalBlog benefit auction, for a scarce autographed first edition copy of the book Survival Guns by Mel Tappan. The auction ends on November 15th. Please submit your bid via e-mail.

Today we present another article for Round 7 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The writer of the best non-fiction article will win a valuable four day “gray” transferable Front Sight course certificate. (Worth up to $1,600.) Second prize is a copy of my “Rawles Gets You Ready” preparedness course, generously donated by Jake Stafford of Arbogast Publishing. If you want a chance to win Round 7, start writing and e-mail us your article. Round 7 will end on November 30th. Remember that the articles that relate practical “how to” skills for survival will have an advantage in the judging.

Fireless Cooking in an Crock Pot Adapted Ice Chest, by

When young and adventurous, we enjoyed family tent camping. We sneered at the “wimps” who used trailers—even including those who used camping trailers. We were purists. One year, a friend loaned us a few days of relaxation in his 16 foot travel trailer. A revelation! This was living!
We learned that deprivation was not nearly as much fun as it was to be camping with all the amenities. It was made even more clear as we watched the folks in the next campsite while they stood around in a drizzle waiting for their Coleman stove to heat up water for coffee.
Recalling this episode got me to thinking about how cool or room-temperature food will add to the misery in a down-grid situation. Hot meals are just about required for making everything else endurable. But in a continuing crisis one vital concern will be how to conserve fuel, yet provide hot meals.
Here’s a slick solution: “fireless” cooking.
Your crock-pot is the latest application of this old, old idea. But the old idea as you will see is better because your homemade fireless cooker won’t require electricity.
The idea is simple: food in a pot is heated to boiling on your stove, then allowed to simmer for a few minutes; then the pot lid is clapped on and the pot is quickly transferred to a well insulated box. More insulation is stuffed around and on top of the pot, filling the entire box; then the lid is closed tightly. Now you can turn off the stove! After four hours or so (timing is not critical), the food is ready to eat. If the pot is not disturbed (peeking is not allowed!), the food will still be hot even after six or more hours.
Here’s the payoff: (1) not much fuel is used and (2), the food can be prepared well before it is needed.
Your fireless cooker can be readily created using a fiberglass ice chest. Ours has wheels and a collapsible handle. This is handy for having the chest near the stove for moving pots to it quickly, then rolling it out of the way while it does its job.
To adapt your ice chest:
1.Put a piece of plywood on the bottom of the chest to keep the hot pot from damaging the chest’s plastic bottom.
2. Use a pot which will provide enough stew to feed your family and which has small handles. Don’t use a pot which has large handles because you want the insulation to snuggle up against the pot at all points.
3. How to provide insulation for the pot:
Get a supply of styrofoam “peanuts” used for shipping and sew them up into bags that will nestle the pot. Dish towels make a nice size for these bags—or cut lengths from the legs of old slacks and sew one end shut. Sew the bags, leaving one edge open; that way you can adjust the quantity of peanuts as you create the nest. Don’t overfill these bags; they should be flexible to conform to the pot. Pin the open end temporarily. Put your pot in the chest and arrange the bags around it so that there will be no air spaces between the pot and the walls of the chest. Now remove the bags and sew them shut.
Cut a couple of old bath towels into smaller pieces to stuff in odd corners if needed to gently fill any air pockets. Make a large peanut-filled bag to cover all this so that closing the lid will result in a chest completely filled with peanut bags and a pot. Later on, you can try using more than one pot, but let’s make this basic for now.
Carefully remove the pot so that the nest is undisturbed. That’s because when you do the actual cooking, you will want to get the hot pot into its nest quickly. Now you are ready.
1. If using meat in your meal, cut it intro bite-sized pieces and gently fry it till just done, then transfer it to the stewpot. Or cook it right in the pot. Add the vegetables, water, spices et cetera so that the pot is 2/3 full—no more: the hot air between the lid and the top of the stew is important. Oh, and soft veggies, peas for example, should go in the pot 10 minutes or so before serving.
2. Heat your stew to boiling and immediately move the container into your fireless cooker; leave it alone 4 or more hours, that’s it.
3. Most crockpot recipes can be adapted for this technique—except those that call for adding ingredients while the cooking is underway. Remember, in fireless cooking, peeking is not allowed, so neither is adding anything after you’ve nested your pot, except at the very end (see above about peas).
One wonderful advantage to this process is the opportunity to eat any time after a few hours—food will still be hot, but not overcooked because the cooker is allowing it to gradually (really gradually) lose heat. This means the cook doesn’t have to be working just before the meal is served. In fact, the cook can sit and enjoy the meal with everybody at the table. And the meal doesn’t need to be ready at any set time–the meal will be ready and stay ready for several hours. So a dinnertime emergency calling the troops away won’t be a kitchen disaster
Besides the advantage of using heat only to fry meat and bring the stew to a boil, you can prepare a meal long before it will be eaten and you don’t have to stand over a stove making sure nothing burns.
Stew recipes are not only easily adapted to this cooking technique, they are very nutritious because the liquid is not poured off, throwing away a lot of food value. Add a hearty slice of two of whole wheat bread and your meals will be delicious and filling.
Prepare a meal in the morning to eat during or after a TV football game and no one has to spend time in the kitchen preparing. Or use this technique to prepare for a tailgate party—no on-site cooking!
When you get the hang of this technique, you will want to try using more than one pot to make, for example, a dessert to accompany the meal.
Practice using this wonderful technique now; it’s simple, and it will give you one more valuable tool if disaster strikes.
Bon appetit! (You can find lots of additional information on the Internet with web search for “fireless cooking”.)

Letter Re: Yugoslavian Surplus M48 Mauser Rifles

Jim,
I recently purchased a M48 Yugoslavian Mauser (manufactured on German tooling during and after WWII) from AIM Surplus for $109.99. [JWR Adds: These can sometimes be found for as little as $100 from discount sporting goods stores such as Big 5, and at guns shows.] In my opinion this is a great deal. I purchased one of these a few years ago and it was in nearly new condition, bore bright and shiny and the action smooth, stock in excellent condition. As many who have purchased these know, these are very good shooters and an excellent low cost rifle. AIM Surplus also has the straight-bolt M47 Mauser for $99.99 and Enfields chambered in 7.62mm NATO for $169.99. I plan on purchasing a .308 barrel from Brownell’s for the Mauser and otherwise leave it as is. (This makes a great trunk rifle if you are crossing into a ‘less than gun friendly state’.. and don’t want to be caught with your high dollar semi-auto and high capacity magazines!) If someone is happy to leave it as a 8mm, AIM also has a supply of surplus and new manufacture 8mm for a relatively good price..Im not affiliated in anyway with this company but have been satisfied with the South African .308 I purchased and felt like passing it on. Best Regards, – Jason from North Idaho

JWR Replies: First I should mention that I am a fan of 8×57 Mauser. It is a very capable cartridge for mule deer and elk hunting. However, most military surplus 8×57 ball ammo is corrosively primed. Unless you are willing to clean your rifle scrupulously and almost immediately after firing, and are willing to clean it again for two subsequent days, then you should buy only non-corrosive ammo. Be sure before you buy! If the seller isn’t willing to guarantee that it is non-corrosive, then look for another batch.

Second, most of the barrels sold by Brownell’s have a “sporter” tapered contour. With those, you will not be able to re-use the rifle’s original sights. What you’ll need is a military contour (“stepped”) 7.62mm barrel. (Such as those that were originally made under contract by FN for the Israeli Defense Force. Some readers may recall that in the 1960s the Israelis rebarreled large numbers of German Model 98K Mausers to shoot 7.62mm NATO, so that they would cartridge interchangeability with Israeli FALs.

)

Third, anyone that desires privacy in their gun purchases should contact The Pre-1899 Specialist. They sell hand-picked Model 1893s that have had their headspace checked. These were made in Oberndorf, Germany under contract for the Turkish government from 1894 to 1897. They are ideal Federally exempt (no FFL required) candidates for rebarreling to 7.62mm NATO.

Odds ‘n Sods:

Former Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan said that investors and central banks are both shifting away from the U.S. dollar and toward the Euro.

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In Clean Politics, Flesh Is Pressed, Then Sanitized

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I heard that Ready Made Resources now stocks the excellent video “Sheltering In Place – Surviving Acts of Terrorism from Biological, Chemical and Radioactive Fallout.” (North American format DVD and NTSC format VHS tapes. Sorry, no PAL format tapes or European format DVDs are available.) The video normally retails for $29 plus postage, but Ready Made Resources sells it for just $28 postage paid.

Letter Re: Walking Sticks for Self Defense

James:
Regarding walking sticks, I’d suggest folks look at two sites. One would be Cold Steel, where they can assemble a pretty stout, flexible and lethal combo from their waxwood poles, their Bushman knives, and steel sections applied to the staff near the ends. The Bushman’s sheath can be leather or parachute cord “strapped” onto the staff, and when needed be affixed to the end and voila! … staff becomes spear. Alas, they no longer have the staffs on their site, but the Bushmans are there, and the rest is a simple exercise in measurement and a half-hour of handiwork. The steel appliques made the ends of the staff even more … “functional” …. than already. As I think about it, wire wrap applied at one end would yield the same enhanced rigidity plus the ability to pull some off for snares, construction …. I think that lo-tech approach beats bought “hiking sticks” which may be lightweight and portable, but don’t fill other survival roles like a stout stick

Crawford Knives.com and the Crawford clan have made a unique survival staff for years that converts from walking stick to staff to blowgun to spear. Machined to their usual quality and tolerances, it’s pricey but the real-deal.

We have both collapsible staffs and the Cold Steel Trailhawks in our vehicles; the Trailhawk does double-duty as a hammer.
Best regards for your Good Work done, – M.P.

Letter Re: MURS Radios and Microphone Connections

James,
Your MURS supplier [MURS Radios] has an excellent product. Regarding inconspicuous microphones and earpieces: We’ve been using this gentleman’s products for the last 5 or 6 years and been very well pleased. About halfway down the page is the Stealth 3-Wire Surveillance Kit, which is what I use. About the only thing I’ve found that I like better is the combination earpiece mike where you talk thru your ear but it definitely has problems in high noise environment and we had trouble with them in helicopters. Every time you open your mouth, the rotor/engine/wind noise overrides your voice. Darned hard to be intelligible talking with your lips clinched. Ha! That’s why we standardized on the Custom Earpiece Stealth unit. I’ve found that the standard earpiece which is supplied is comfortable under both earmuffs and helmets.Just a nice working unit at the range, airborne, or in a crowd and they usually have adapters for most any radio.

On another note: Botach Tactical has a special on for the MB -Microtec H3 Military Traser Watches for $99.95 with free shipping. A good, non-magnetic watch with tritium and at that price it’s a throwaway Regards, – The Army Aviator

JWR Replies: SurvivalBlog readers are forewarned that Botach Tactical has a mixed reputation for order fulfillment reliability and customer service. I have heard from three different individuals that Botach has been known to advertise items that they don’t actually have in stock, taking funds from customers, and then declaring them “back orders”–sometimes for months–while they await shipments from suppliers. If you place an order with Botach, I would recommend that you call first to confirm that the particular product(s) that you wish to order are actually physically in stock. I also recommend that you pay via credit card so that you will have some recourse in the event that your order is not completed.

Odds ‘n Sods:

Reader Hawaiian K notes: “One of the most practical skills an outdoorsman/survivalist can practice is knot tying. There is a terrific site that shows you exactly how they’re done (they show examples of around 75 specific knots) via clearly photographed animations.

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From WorldNetDaily: Investors warned of post-election disaster. The Gold Anti-Trust Action organization’s Bill Murphy claims that the Plunge Protection Team may have plans for a weaker dollar, after the U.S. mid-term election in early November.

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Bob at Ready Made Resources mentioned that he is available for free consulting (with no purchase obligation) on photovoltaic power system sizing and design. He is a stocking dealer for both Outback and Xantrex inverters. Bob has the specialized tools needed to calculate current loads, requisite battery bank sizing, charge controller capacity, available solar hours, solar panel array solar exposure and orientation, and so forth. I can attest that Bob really knows his stuff, and unlike some solar system specialists, he has considerable experience building systems that are custom tailored for survival retreats. I recommend that any SurvivalBlog readers that are considering installing an independent home power system take advantage of the free consulting offer from Ready Made Resources.

Jim’s Quote of the Day:

“Note that Finland’s five million people own four million personal firearms. Just wait till Congressman Schumer finds out about that!” – The Late Jeff Cooper, Jeff Cooper’s Commentaries Vol. 3, No. 2, 31 January 1995

Note from JWR:

Today we present another article for Round 7 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The writer of the best non-fiction article will win a valuable four day “gray” transferable Front Sight course certificate. (Worth up to $1,600.) Second prize is a copy of my “Rawles Gets You Ready” preparedness course, generously donated by Jake Stafford of Arbogast Publishing. If you want a chance to win Round 7, start writing and e-mail us your article. Round 7 will end on November 30th. Remember that the articles that relate practical “how to” skills for survival will have an advantage in the judging.

Selecting Barter Goods, by Warhawke

In a post-TEOTWAWKI world just about everyone realizes that paper money will become useless (unless you can get enough to use as insulation for your house) and there has been much discussion of gold, silver and other items for barter in these pages. I have devoted a great deal of thought to this subject and I would like to share a few of my ideas on the subject with you. I’m going to try to be fairly short on details here in order to keep the length of the article manageable. Keep in mind that what I am discussing here are trade goods and not items for personal use. You should always get the best supplies and equipment you can afford for your own use, but trade items are an investment, and like all investments you need to minimize your outlay and maximize your profit. For barter, why buy a Craftsman socket-set when you can get three Chinese made socket-sets from Harbor Freight for the same money? Places to obtain trade goods are yard and garage sales, pawnshops, resale shops, flea markets, discount stores and dollar stores. Of course, don’t buy complete junk but a mediocre tool is much better than no tool at all.

GUNS AND AMMO
First, I would tend to keep the trading in weapons and ammo to friends and neighbors, no sense arming the opposition. That said, a good bolt-action rifle would be a serious item for trade. A friend of mine is a Mosin-Nagant nut and he bought a half-dozen “Gunsmith Specials” with cracked stocks and messed up finishes for about $20 a piece. A few weeks and around a hundred bucks in parts later (he managed to repair all but two of the stocks) he had six fully functional rifles which he has socked away with a 700+ round sealed tin of ammo (each with a can-opener). Another guy that I know has four Romanian .22 Long Rifle bolt-actions stored away. At my suggestion they both coated these in DuraCoat which is a high-tech spray-on finish that can be applied with an airbrush, requires no heat curing and can even be applied to wood and plastics. Used .22 rifles would also be a good trade item, but I prefer to avoid the ones with tube magazines, if they break [e.g. the magazine tube is dented] they are pretty well impossible to repair, and good luck finding a replacement.

The best most of us can do is probably to collect parts and tools to repair our own firearms and perhaps some of the more common weapons (Model 1911s, AR-15s, AKs, etc.) as well as cleaning kits, bore solvent, broken case extractors, and repair items for wooden stocks (Acraglas is a good one). Magazines, speed loaders and stripper clips for the more common weapons might be a good choice as well.

I do not believe in stocking ammunition which I don’t use, I have enough trouble buying and storing the ammunition I do use. Instead I recommend getting into reloading on a very serious basis and get the equipment to both cast and swage bullets. Casting is the most common method for making bullets and will work well. Swaging involves producing bullets using pressure as opposed to heat and allows you to make jacketed bullets which allows normal velocities to be obtained, while simple unjacketed cast bullets must use low-velocities to reduce leading of the barrel. Search for “Bullet Swaging” and you can find a host of sites on the subject. It is an expensive method of production, but with the equipment and large amounts of powder and primers you can supply the neighbors and yourself with far more ammunition than you could ever stockpile. A few caveats on this though;

Select your powders to provide the widest possible selection of calibers and loadings using the least amount of powder for each, you have to stretch your supplies as far as possible.

Steel casings can be reloaded but they will eat-up your dies.

Berdan primers can be removed and replaced by boxer primers, however you must ream out the primer pocket as there will be a small post in the primer pocket which must be removed or the boxer primers will fail to seat and may fire if you try. Here is a good site on decapping Berdan primers.[JWR Adds: Rather than drilling out Berdan case primer anvils–which can be tricky–I recommend stocking up on Berdan primers from a supplier such as The Old Western Scrounger.]
BOOKS
Books are portable knowledge and can either be lent out or simply read, your private library can be a profit making enterprise.

I would start with the general knowledge books, Late 19th and early 20th century encyclopedias, “Connections” by James Burke and the Foxfire book series are a good place to start. Then go for the more specific information like veterinary medicine, animal husbandry, beekeeping, gardening, small engine repair, carpentry, medicine (The Physician’s desk Reference (PDR), Gray’s Anatomy, “Where there is no doctor/dentist, etc.), psychology, chemistry, glass blowing, metallurgy, and blacksmithing. Frankly just about anything you can think of can be valuable to someone, and don’t skip history, philosophy, mathematics, and spelling textbooks. As a survivalist, you should be planning to give your children and grandchildren the tools they need to rebuild, not merely consigning them to the short hard life of pre-industrial farming and drudgery. Don’t forget the fiction either (fun reading is often the gateway to a lifetime habit), from the classics by Defoe and Stevenson to the more contemporary works of Heinlein, Norton, Piper, Pournelle, and Ing (yes I mean the science fiction writers, it is the writing of hope for the future and Robert Heinlein, Jerry Pournelle, and Dean Ing have wonderful books about survival which any survivalist can appreciate, even when they are set in futures and planets that never existed).

If you have access to a high-volume printer you should visit Project Gutenberg it is one of the largest collections of public domain writings in the world with over 19,000 works on just about every subject imaginable available for free downloading (P.S. I understand that Xerox copies will last much longer than most computer printer copies).

Don’t forget pencils (better than pens over the years and cheaper in bulk), paper, erasers, protractors, rulers, notebooks and other supplies for education, record keeping, drafting and planning.

TOOLS
Always get the best tools you can afford for yourself, but always remember that a mediocre tool is better than no tool at all.

Socket sets, pocket multi-tools, wrench sets, drill bits, chisels (wood and metal working), bit-and-brace, hand drills (manual), files, Allen wrenches, screwdrivers, driver bits (with manual drivers), cutters (side-cutters, end-cutters, snips), bunches of clamps, hammers (of all sizes), pry-bars, shovels, rakes (the heavy gardening type), hoes, sickles, scythes, handsaws (hacksaws, crosscuts, etc.), axes, and just about anything else you can think of. Don’t forget specialty tools either, eye-glass repair kits are cheap, watch making and gunsmithing tools can often be obtained on eBay and others places and even if you can’t use them others might and you can trade them for training or just future work.

Don’t forget things like oil and grease for maintaining and storing your tools. A few gallons of WD-40, light machine oil or big tubs of quality grease (I prefer graphite grease) will be incredibly valuable in a post-petroleum society.

KNIVES
I used to disregard knives as barter items, as I come from a family where no man was dressed without his pocketknife and just about any other knife you could wish for was in a drawer somewhere, but alas, most people today have little more than some plastic-handled Chinese kitchen knives.

Anza Knives has some of the least expensive and best custom knives you will find anywhere, I’ve owned and used them for years and I highly recommend them, both for you and for trade. From 1” skinners to big kitchen knives these fixed blades will outlast your grandkids. The one issue I have is the high-carbon blades then to rust at the slightest excuse, coat them with DuraCoat (see, guns and ammo).

For folding knives (as well as fixed blades for those with good skills) go see KnifeKits.com, I’ve gotten several of their folder kits to give out as Christmas presents and everyone has liked them. All you really need is some Torx bit drivers to put them together but if you wish [with a buffing wheel] you can pimp these puppies into some real nice keepsakes. Knife kits also sells tools and supplies for working on projects like these.

Don’t forget about making your own blades from scratch either, big lawn mower blades make great machetes and would no doubt work for plow blades, and steel blanks of D2, 1095, A2 and other excellent blade steels can be gotten at reasonable cost today but will be unobtainable in the post-collapse era. Don’t forget sharpening supplies, I get Laskey-type sharpeners as well as diamond hones (rod and flat style) from an industrial supply company near my home for less than normal retail. I would also mention that I recommend using peanut oil (not vegetable oil which will go rancid) on knives as many mineral oils will contaminate the blade and make it unsuitable for cutting anything you plan to eat.

Don’t forget razor knives, utility knives, and razor blades.

FIRE STARTING
This has been one of my personal bug-a-boos since I first read Pat Frank’s classic survivalist book “Alas Babylon”. I have noticed that most survivalists tend to buy huge amounts of waterproof and strike-anywhere matches as well as fire-starters like ‘Blast-Match’, which is fine, keep them for yourself (especially as new strike-anywhere types go dead after six months). For trading I buy cheap disposable lighters and book matches as well as wicks and flints for Zippo lighters. In fact I have several cheap plastic matchboxes (pseudo-military style) filled with 150 flints, 3 wicks and 3 huge cosmetic cotton-balls (for repacking the lighters) as Zippo support kits. I have a half-dozen or so Zippos I’ve picked up at yards sales over the years, which I plan to trade as I have three new-in-box for my use, along with the one in my pocket. P.S. If you switch from fluid to gasoline (or vice-versa) in a Zippo, you must repack the cotton filling.

LIGHTING
Don’t buy candles, most candles are made for pretty, not for light and “Survival” candles are more expensive though generally not much better. Instead, get some pure cotton string a little thicker than a tea-bag string (which I actually use for my survival kit candles), bulk paraffin wax and get some plastic cigar tubes (I’ve also used narrow plastic bottles, but be sure that all the previous contents are cleaned out). Drill a hole in the tip a little bigger than your wick and run the wick through and tie it to a pencil or stick and then tie the other end in a knot (which will mostly seal off your hole). You should spritz the inside with non-stick cooking spray (or vegetable oil and a spray bottle) to keep the wax from sticking and then pour in your melted wax. I use a coffee-can 1/3 full of water and about 1?2 full of wax to keep from messing up a cooking pot and to keep the wax from burning. I use a plastic measuring cup to dip out my wax. This will work with beeswax as well.

I also have bought a bunch of cheap LED flashlights (the batteries last longer than standard bulb flashlights), lamp wicks and flashlight bulbs. I looking for the price to come down on the new magnet powered flashlights too, these would be useful when the batteries go bye-bye.

EYEGLASSES
Inexpensive UV protective sunglasses (especially for those blue-eyed, blonde types who tend to get cataracts), dime-store reading glasses (make sure to write the Rx number on the case), safety glasses and welding glasses will all be good items for trade. I myself have gotten several pairs of Gargoyles and Oakleys at yard sales which I paid to have factory refinished for far less than the retail price.

CLOTHING
I buy used work uniforms from an industrial surplus house in my area, these are excellent work clothes and the material is much like military BDUs. I’ve bought pants and shirt sets for under $5, and they sell painter’s smocks (I dyed one brown and made my ghillie suit with it and a pair of the pants), jump suits, hats, gloves and winter coats and boots.

I also buy socks and underwear (irregulars can be gotten very cheap), handkerchiefs, patch material, sewing needles (get a variety of sizes, so-called ‘Doll’ needles work for leather work), boot and shoe laces, snaps and snap tools, buttons, thread, straight pins, tailors chalk, and sewing machine needles (older model electric machines with the manual knobs could be converted to foot treadles). While you are at it you might find irregular pantyhose and knee-highs, they make excellent strainers, the reduce chafing when riding on horseback (an equestrian I know told me that one) and if you are prone to leg swelling they help with that too.

MEDICAL SUPPLIES
Stick to the non-perishables for trade. Bandages, hot water bottles (with attachments) sterile pads, slings, splints, support bandages, tweezers, hemostats, sutures and suture needles, clamps, stethoscopes, blood-pressure cuffs, thermometers, scalpels and blades, and non-disposable syringes and needles. Iodine, aloe, mercurochrome, betadine, “Bag Balm” (an antiseptic lotion), dental floss (use baking soda instead of toothpaste) and such could be stored in quantity as well. And don’t forget the feminine hygiene products, nothing says I love you to the womenfolk like a couple cases of these puppies, plus tampons can be used to pack wounds and pads make good dressings (and nifty padding for pack straps). Once again, just because you can’t use an item doesn’t mean others won’t be able too.

SUNDRIES
Batteries (buy brand names in the big ‘Industrial’ packs and/or rechargeable ones, keep the charger yourself and trade live for dead), belt buckles, pots and pans, buckets, mops and mop heads, Pyrex measuring cups, measuring spoons, metal mixing bowls, baking sheets, roasting pans, pressure cookers (good for sterilizing as well as cooking), bread and cake pans, candy thermometers, cleaning brushes (various, with both natural and artificial bristles not to mention metal brushes), canning jars with seals and lids (lots and lots of seals and lids) as well as canning baskets and pots, mechanical watches (I wear an Invicta Model 8926 myself), baby food jars (excellent for storage), thermos bottles, can openers (a bucket load of military key ring “P-38” can openers will only cost a few bucks), potato peelers, tooth brushes, spray bottles, et cetera.

I could go on, but I think you have a good start here. The main thing is to think about what people use everyday that they won’t have in a post-collapse world and either get some of them now, or figure out a replacement. Check the Internet, check the phonebook and the newspapers, find the outlet and surplus stores in your area, get on mailing lists, and most of all shop! Don’t just dash in and out, go in and look around and think about what can be useful. Remember your first and best resource is that thing behind your ears, use it often and well.